Question Summary:
Selling ones animal to abattoirs who only fix a price after slaughtering the animal and grading the meat

Question Detail:

Mufti Saheb Is is permissible for a muslim farmer to sell his animals to an abattoir who will pay him only after they slaughter and skin etc.

Nowadays most abattoirs pay after slaughtering, they then grade the meat and accordingly pay the price on the hook.

Price per kg is fixed for example, A grade R40/kg, B grade R30/kg, C grade R20/kg.

Is this sale permissible due to the price of the animal being unknown at the time of sale?

Will the ruling change if both parties agree, they are willingly happy and generally this doesn't lead to any problems after, as this has become the norm in dealing with abattoirs?

If not, is there a way to make the sale valid? Making them your representative? Leaving the animals by them not concluding the sale and making them responsible?

How would it work out in the situation where the abattoir is non muslim owned?

Jazakallah

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The following procedure may be implemented to accommodate the method adopted by modern day abattoirs.

The farmer undertakes to slaughter his animals himself or through his representative. Until that point the farmer will be the owner of the slaughtered animal. The animal must be slaughtered according to Islamic principles on slaughtering. Neglecting this step would make the meat haraam and it would be impermissible for the farmer to sell the meat.[1]

He may then have the meat weighed and sell to the abattoir at that time. However, the risk is the abattoir may refuse purchasing the meat after the animal is slaughtered. The farmer may secure an undertaking from the abattoir that it will purchase the meat as per the weight of the meat.[2] 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Aboobakr Siddeeq bin Mufti Amjad Mohammad

Student Darul Iftaa 

Azaadville, JHB, South Africa 

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

____

[1]  الاختيار لتعليل المختار - (2 / 23)

 قال : ( وبيع الميتة والدم والخمر والخنزير والحر وأم الولد

والمدبر ، والجمع بين حر وعبد ، وميتة وذكية باطل )

البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق - (5 / 279)

ولم يَنْعَقِدْ بَيْعُ ما ليس بِمَالٍ مُتَقَوِّمٍ كَبَيْعِ الْحُرِّ وَالْمُدَبَّرِالْمُطْلَقِ وَأُمِّ الْوَلَدِ وَالْمُكَاتَبِ وَمُعْتَقِ الْبَعْضِ وَأَوْلَادِهِمْ إلَّا وَلَدَ الْمُكَاتَبِ المشتري في كِتَابَتِهِ وَالْمَيْتَةِ وَالدَّمِ وَذَبِيحَةِ الْمَجُوسِيِّ وَالْمُرْتَدِّ وَالْمُشْرِكِ وَالصَّبِيِّ الذي لَا يَعْقِلُ وَالْمَجْنُونِ

الجوهرة النيرة - (2 / 249)

( إذَا كَانَ أَحَدُ الْعِوَضَيْنِ مُحَرَّمًا ، أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا مُحَرَّمًا فَالْبَيْعُ فَاسِدٌ ) أَيْ بَاطِلٌ ( كَالْبَيْعِ بِالْمَيْتَةِ ، أَوْ بِالدَّمِ ، أَوْ بِالْخِنْزِيرِ ، أَوْ بِالْخَمْرِ....)

اللباب في شرح الكتاب - (1 / 121)

إذا كان أحد العوضين أو كلاهما محرماً فالبيع فاسدٌ، كالبيع بالميتة أو بالدم أو بالخمر أو بالخنزير، وكذلك إذا كان غير مملوكٍ كالحر؛ وبيع أم الولد والمدبر والمكاتب فاسدٌ.

[2]  القرآن الكريم – سورة بني اسرائيل:34

وَأَوْفُواْ بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْؤُولاً

Islamic Finance pg. 121

Solution to this problem ….. by asking the client to sign a promise to purchase the commodity ….